Friday, August 22, 2014

People Like You

Next week, we will have a meeting about People Like You. As
the meeting leader, I will introduce myself as someone with personal experience
because I have a child who is Like You. I will tell you a little of my
background, including my involvement in a Major Organization that has stated
its goal of removing People Like You from the population. Before the meeting,
be sure to read the PowerPoint of my recent presentation, referring to People
Like You as having a “multi-system disease.” The disease is the Like You-ness
itself. You will also see here that one in fifty people are now Like You, and
that this is very expensive to families and the general community. People Like
You cost a lot. You need a lot of therapy to become less Like You. Early
Intervention is the key to becoming less Like You.

This meeting is to talk about future plans for “serving”
People Like You and their families. “Vigorous training programs are needed.”
This will be said a lot, but the content of these trainings will not be
discussed. All the people and agencies around the state who are dealing with
People Like You need to collaborate. Everyone needs to be on the same page and
recognize the evidence based treatments that will help you be less Like You.
Once all this information is connected, it will be more difficult for outsiders
[People Like (in a much more specific sense) You] to propose or defend other
ways of looking at People Like You.

Some reasonable things will be said here. I will acknowledge
that there are far more adults Like You than children Like You. Someone will
describe as “tragic” the lack of good employment outcomes for People Like You.
You will hear things about the various ways People Like You communicate, that
these should be understood, maybe even respected.

As the meeting leader, I might nod in agreement, though the
word “defect” will slip from my mouth when discussing the communication styles
of some People Like You. I may ask directly about the IQ scores of the People
Like You served by your particular project. I want to know if they are higher
functioning People Like You. It’s obvious that you are in that category, even
though you are sitting there with a stuffed parrot in your arms, rocking, and
excusing yourself periodically to make chirping sounds in the hallway.

One thing you won’t hear is the truth about why People Like
You tend to be unemployed or underemployed. We will skip conveniently over the
parts about how the Major Organization has portrayed People Like You as tragic
and expensive and diseased and necessarily needing therapies. I’ll shake my
head in wonder. It’s a puzzle isn’t it? People Like You just can’t seem to get
jobs and hold on to them.

You may wonder why you have been invited to this meeting. No
one has asked you a question. I might have seen you raise your hand at one point,
but I wasn’t sure. At the end of the meeting, you might make a statement. “I
would like to make a statement.” But the real words will need to come in writing.
The rest of us will read it, probably. When I do so, I may laugh the same nervous
laugh as when you introduced the parrot. But really, I’m so glad you came. It’s
important to have People Like You at the table. My colleague, your employer,
wants to make a statement too: The views expressed by you are not necessarily
those of this institution.

3 comments:

My name is Vered Seidmann and I am conducting a study on Autism and the Social Media. I am a PhD student at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Studies (WKWSCI), in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. I study the voice and the presence of autism as reflected in social media. The direct voice of autistic people is under-explored and I find it extremely important to listen to the unique voice of autistic people. Your blog provides important insights about autism and I was wondering if I can be in touch with you for more detailed explanation. If you are willing, I would be very grateful to be in touch with you directly via e-mail and send you more detailed information. My e-mail address is: vered001@e.ntu.edu.sg .